Violent Mugging On Tremont Alarms West End

June 21, 2004|By MATT BURGARD; Courant Staff Writer

Even though it is considered one of the safer sections of Hartford, people who live in the city's West End are used to ``nuisance'' crimes, such as car thefts and vandalism, on a regular basis. Such is the cost of living in a city, many residents reason.

But when a young woman was shot in the foot during a mugging last week on Tremont Street, the neighborhood's sense of resigned acceptance gave way to alarm and outrage.

FOR THE RECORD - Correction published June 22, 2004.Jory Johnson, a resident of Hartford's West End, said he does not know of anyone who has moved from his neighborhood because of concern about rising crime. An article in Monday's editions incorrectly stated that Johnson knows residents who have moved due to increased crime in the city.

``All in all, I'd say the number of crimes we're seeing in our area is still the same, but now it looks like the crimes are getting more dangerous,'' said Jory Johnson, chairman of the West End Public Safety Committee, a crime watch group. ``We don't want to see it turned up a notch.''

Residents became alarmed when they learned that a New Britain woman, visiting a friend who lives on Tremont Street, was accosted by two men wearing ski masks Wednesday night.

Residents are concerned about the incident, they said, because Tremont Street has traditionally been a relatively crime-free part of the West End.

The woman who was shot, who asked not to be identified, said she was standing in front of her friend's apartment building when the two men ran up to her and demanded her handbag.

When she refused, one of the men pulled out a gun and shot her in the foot, she said.

The gunman then pushed her to the ground and grabbed her bag.

The two assailants then got into a sport utility vehicle parked nearby and drove off, she said.

``It was horrible, the kind of thing that is hard to overcome,'' said the woman. ``I never thought it was a dangerous neighborhood before.''

Police have not been able to track down the two men, police spokeswoman Nancy Mulroy said Friday. The woman who was shot said she expects to fully recover from the wound.

Although police statistics do not show a sharp increase in crime along Tremont Street -- in fact, the number of complaints in many categories, including auto thefts, has declined compared with last year -- Johnson said some residents have decided to move because they have a sense that it has become less safe.

Johnson and other activists said they have asked the city to devote more police resources to their neighborhood but have been told that little to no funding is available.

``The amount of grant money that was available to the city five years ago was much more than it is today,'' Johnson said.

``That means the cops are having to make do with fewer officers and worn down cruisers and radios and other equipment.''

Matt Hennessy, the chief of staff for Mayor Eddie A. Perez, confirmed that funding has been dramatically reduced for law enforcement assistance over the last two years. He said the city received more than $2 million in federal drug enforcement assistance two years ago, but that amount has since been reduced to little more than $250,000 this year.

Perez has designated Tremont Street as a ``Pride Block.'' The mayor last year identified several neighborhoods -- dubbed ``Pride Blocks'' or ``Rising Star Blocks'' -- which were earmarked for funding and other services designed to make them more appealing to potential homeowners and businesses.